Houston High seeks renewal for 'Facing History and Ourselves' special course; district wins $74,600 tutoring grant

The Germantown Board of Education heard a presentation on curriculum and grants during its February work session, including a renewal application for a special, honors-level course and notice of a state tutoring grant.

Speaker 8 presented the special-course application for Facing History and Ourselves at Houston High School, explaining the course aligns to updated social studies standards and focuses on the Holocaust and the Armenian genocide. Speaker 8 said the course is a semester (half-credit) elective that promotes critical thinking and discourse, and has had stable interest in the district: "this year we have 40 students," Speaker 8 said, adding that enrollment in past years has reached up to 100 students.

The presenter noted that Tennessee allows districts to develop special courses that meet unique local needs and said the Facing History curriculum was previously approved in 2023 but needed re-alignment to the new standards. The presenter also praised district instructional staff who led the alignment work.

Separately, Speaker 8 announced preliminary approval of a Tennessee AllCore Innovation Tutoring grant worth $74,600 to support the district's tutoring program that uses a high-dosage, low-ratio model. Speaker 8 said the district will use the funds to pay tutoring personnel and to provide additional training for tutors; the district said the grant will be renewed each year and that staff expect to return with the formal budget amendment once final state approval is received.

No final board vote on either the special-course renewal or the final grant amendment occurred during the work session; staff said the formal amendments and approving documentation will be returned to the board at a future meeting.